Diatomaceous Earth to the Rescue!

One of my latest fall harvests.

Diatomaceous earth has saved the day.  Nasty little Cabbageworms were nesting in and feasting on my gorgeous broccolis and turning the leaves into lace.  I tried spraying them with neem and soap, but that wasn't the proper potion for this particular plague.

Nutri-Bud Broccoli

Several months back, we purchased several pounds of food grade DE. We planned to use it mostly in and around the hen house to keep down the population of creepy-crawlies and parasites. We were also interested in using it to help us protect our vegetable crops from pests organically. We have relied on neem oil to get us out of our (luckily, very rare) pest problems most of the time, and we wanted to find another effective weapon to add to our arsenal.

Broccoli sprinkled with DE.

DE has done an amazing job of keeping the nasties away from and out of the chickens.  We sprinkle it in their coop and around their yard right after a good cleaning.  I also add a little bit to their food from time to time as a dewormer.

A parasite-free Robert Rooster

So, you ask, what exactly is diatomaceous earth?  It's a naturally-occurring mineral compound that is made up of the fossilized remains of diatoms.  Diatoms are a hard-shelled algae.  The diatoms of which I am speaking are 30 million years old.  Totally cool.


Ready for a second harvest.

I was able to freeze several heads of the first broccoli planting, and I am looking forward to harvesting from two more plantings.